Tales From the Darkside: Dark and Surreal Photo Manipulations

Darker, surreal themes can often lead to some really interesting photo manipulations, as stylistically artist’s can stray into genres such as gothic, horror, the macabre and violence. Not the most pleasant themes for sure, but they can result in some very emotive, engaging pieces of art.

Photo manipulation is the ideal technique to work with dark, surreal subject matters, as everyday images can be warped and changed into something grotesque or unusual. For this type of composition regular scenes are also often manipulated to look darker or more menacing.

Common themes and images in dark and surreal photo manipulations include gothic feminine beauties, mist/fog, death/loss, nighttime, psychological stress/angst, falling, scenes that defy the laws of physics and personal contemplation/reflection.

As you can see from these themes and motifs dark and surreal photo manipulations are often about more than just looking attractive. They cover a wide range of serious matters, emotions and themes; and it’s up to the artist to capture them elegantly.

Today we present 40 stunning examples of dark and surreal photo manipulation art. We hope that they inspire you to try your own designs and venture into this genre.

What Do You Think?

I hope that you enjoyed this article. Did you have any favorite photo manipulations from this collection? Perhaps a favorite theme that jumped out at you within this genre? Let us know in the comments below and we can get a discussion going!

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this site has gone downhill .. It’s just “look i made a list of what people have done” kinda blog .. One word to describe this site.. Boring!

Robert Bowen, 07 June 2012

Sorry you feel that way, gfs, and though everyone is entitled to their own opinions, this is one that seems somewhat misinformed. We have always tended towards the highly visual and inspirational collections, however, the site still continues to put out resources and new, informative tutorials. Including an occasional interview and showcase of past influential designers.

Now there was a recent rededicated effort, as we are part of two other sites, to ensure that content that would fit better either on Smashing or the Design Informer wing, to keep that content placed there. So perhaps that is what you are indicating or detecting? Either way, thanks for the support while we had it.